


The Weakest Link

by Animedemon01



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Self-Esteem Issues, vile - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 18:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20158225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animedemon01/pseuds/Animedemon01
Summary: El Topo has always felt weak in comparison to his fellow operatives, and sparring with Le Chevre only seems to confirm this for him.





	The Weakest Link

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was suggested to be my an anon on my Tumblr.
> 
> https://caramel-sandiego.tumblr.com/post/186780934677/if-youre-accepting-jeantonio-prompts-maybe-a

Just because you’d graduated, didn’t mean you were done with training. No matter how much field experience you had, or how many assignments you’d been a part of recently, it was important to always stay in practice. This, coupled with the fact that living on the island was surprisingly boring, meant that almost everyone was doing some sort of training a minimum of 4-5 times a week, providing they didn’t have many assignments.

Much like everyone else, Antonio and Jean-Paul would train almost every day, providing that they didn’t have any assignments. Most days, they trained together. Recently, however, things had been different. More and more often, Jean-Paul would be sent on solo assignments, or assignments with other operatives. Antonio, on the other hand, was being sent out much less than usual. This meant that Jean-Paul would often not be around for Antonio to train with, leaving him to either find another training partner, or be forced to train alone.

The problem with finding another training partner, however, was that most operatives already had a permanent training partner, and those without a partner usual didn’t for a good reason. Antonio wasn’t really acquainted with the other students in his graduating class-outside of his friend group, which had mostly fallen apart after Gray had his memory erased-so he didn’t really know who to ask. Most of the time, he would find himself training with a handful of different operatives who were in the same boat as he was.

It seemed like forever since Antonio had the opportunity to train with Jean-Paul, so when he finally had a chance, he wasted no time. He convinced Jean-Paul to start training with him first thing in the morning, even before eating breakfast.

While Jean-Paul had suggested going on a run as the start to their training, Antonio had been waiting to spar with him for quite a while. While that had trained together a few times after, they hadn’t spared in months. Antonio wanted to finally show Jean-Paul a few new moves he had picked up from other operatives.

While Jean-Paul was a little apprehensive about sparing in the first place, he seemed even more reluctant to face off against Antonio once they were in the ring.

“How about we got for a swim instead?” He suggested. “I know you haven’t been in nearly as many fights as me in the recent months, and I wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt you. Besides, it’s such a beautiful day, _mon chou_. Shouldn’t we spend it outside instead of wasting it in here?”

“We can swim afterwards, but right now I would like to spar.” Antonio insisted. “I’ve been waiting to train with you for quite a while, and its not like you’ve been the only one getting practice this whole time; I’ve been sparring with other operatives while you’ve been gone, and I’ve learned a few new things.”

Jean-Paul still seemed a bit apprehensive about the idea of sparring, but he didn’t put up any more of an argument.

At first Antonio was happy to get the chance to spar with his boyfriend, but as they continued, he realized that something was up and suddenly stopped.

“Stop going easy on me!” He shouted. “I know I might not be as strong as you, but how am I supposed to get better if you won’t give me a good fight?”

“But, _mon amour_, I don’t want to hurt you.” Replied Jean-Paul.

Antonio turned away angrily. “No, I don’t want to hear it. I know I’m not strongest operative, in fact far from it. I have to deal with people treating me like I’m weak or useless all the time, it just hurts more when you do it.”

“You’re not weak.” Jean-Paul tried to assure him. “I know that fact that you’re being sent on far fewer assignments than me is starting to get to you, but that doesn’t mean anything. Besides, physical strength or even skill isn’t everything; you’re a wonderful person and I can see that.”

Antonio just sighed. “I know that physical strength isn’t everything; I’m just… not a great operative. I’m going to take the rest of the day off; I just don’t feel like training anymore.”

And with that, he began to walk away.

“_Mon Chou_!” Jean-Paul shouted after him. “I’m sorry that I upset you! You’re not weak, I promise.”

“Its fine.” Replied Antonio. “I know it’s the truth, and the truth just hurts sometimes. I’d like to be alone now for a while, please.”

He left, leaving Jean-Paul standing in the sparring ring, alone.


End file.
